WHAT more can a father ask for in a day dedicated to him than getting free beer, and inside the mall at that?
As a Father's Day treat, Brownbox Brewery and Distillery gave out free beer to mallgoers on June 18. They served their locally- brewed beer to fathers- and those who identify as fathers-, and to just about anybody who curiously approached their booth.
Paulo Elmaga, proprietor and brewer is an industrial engineer by profession. He first got the idea in 2021 during his sister's wedding where he first tried brewing beer and served the guests. During his own wedding in 2022, he wanted to serve craft beer at his reception but there was no one providing this type of service.
This is a husband and wife tandem, as Sharleen, his wife, handles the social media and marketing side of the business.
Starting the business was no easy task, according to Elmaga. Kegs have to be imported as there were no available locally when he started. Ingredients like malt are imported from Australia, hops from the US, and yeast from US and Germany.
Elmaga enrolled in a three-month training course at DTI in 2022 on Business Enhancement Program to learn more about how to run this type of business.
They have four beer styles available: Beer 7.2, so named because it has 7.2 % alcohol content; Pale Ale; Angry Apple; and Calamansi Ale.
